2015 Jaguar F-type V-6 S Coupe

Few are more desirable.

Jaguar had it easy when it created its last great sports coupe, the E-type. Had the company’s Brylcreem-smeared virtuosos from way-back-when been forced to wade through the sludge of modern vehicle regulations, they probably would have committed seppuku with their slide rules. Instead, they were free to draw a stunning body, uncork some 100-proof engineering inspiration, and launch a masterpiece for which they asked just $5895 ($47K in today’s money).

So it’s mind-boggling that the new F-type coupe has emerged from the current gantlet of stifling requirements—pedestrian protection, headlight height, and so on, ad infinitum—stunningly gorgeous and pitched at a price you’ll have to sell only one organ to afford. Yet, Jaguar didn’t just create automotive art. It also produced a coupe that’s fantastic to drive.

We recently spent a day snaking through the Spanish countryside in the 380-hp V-6 S, which is bracketed in the all-supercharged lineup by the 340-hp V-6 base model and the bonkers R [April 2014] with its 550-horse V-8.

The S’s blown six is strong enough to hurtle the 3750-pound three-door to 60 mph in under five seconds. A standard active exhaust fires off loud and antisocial pops and burbles on overrun that help it sound nearly as ferocious as the R, even if the V-6 isn’t quite as deeply thunderous as the V-8.

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As in the roadster, the interior offers some design theater with its red start button and motorized center vents that rise slowly out of the dash like Excalibur from the lake. A toggle switch activates dynamic mode, enlivening throttle response, firming up the dampers, speeding up shifts from the eight-speed auto, and making the heavy steering even heavier. We preferred the lighter steering program, but only the R allows you to customize the chassis settings in dynamic mode.

But the hydraulic steering—a rarity today—has feeling and responsiveness in any setting. The well-damped ride was developed on lumpy British B-roads, where an overly stiff car can be hurled off the tarmac and into the nearest flock of sheep. This is a sports car that never beats up its occupants, even when the adjustable suspension is at its firmest. The optional 20-inch wheels and Pirelli P Zeros on our test car provided more real-world grip than most will ever fully exploit.

The car rotates easily with the throttle, and the upgraded Super Performance brakes have good initial bite and progressive pedal feel while delivering fearsome deceleration. If you want to repeatedly stop as quickly as driving into an Aragonian cliff, $13,500 carbon-ceramic brakes are available. We’re not sure they’re necessary unless you’re going to track the car with some frequency. Anyone in that camp might be happy to know that Jag dyno-tests and beds-in all the optional brake systems before a car so equipped leaves the factory.

The S enhancements include launch control, the adaptive suspension, and a limited-slip diff. You also get the same stiff, all-aluminum structure as all F-type coupes. Jaguar says the car’s rigidity is unchanged whether you spec the pano­ramic glass roof or stay with the standard aluminum lid. The best part may be that the V-6 S is a full $22,000 cheaper than the R coupe and $4000 cheaper than the equivalent roadster.

No, that’s wrong: The best part is that the coupe is the first Jaguar since the original E-type to look like rolling sex. And that, combined with a righteous perform­ance-per-dollar ratio, places the S at the F coupe’s sweet spot. It also makes what is arguably the most beautiful car of today a worthy successor to the most beautiful car of all time.